San Jose: Car burglary turns into home-invasion assault of two women

SAN JOSE -- Two women who caught a man in the act of breaking into their car were assaulted and had their home ransacked early Friday morning, police said.

Around 1:50 a.m., two female residents of a home in the 400 block of Mahoney Drive -- about a half-mile east of Alum Rock Avenue toward the East San Jose foothills -- heard what they thought was someone trying to get into their car parked outside. They went out and yelled at a man as he was trying to break in, telling him to stop.

The man instead chased the women back into their home and punched one in the face, police said. The residents fled the house, but not before one of the suspects -- a second man had joined the skirmish by then -- caught up with and assaulted one of the women. She broke free and the two women got to the safety of a neighbor's house.

With the first house now unoccupied, the suspects went back in and stole several items, police said. They ran from the scene and have not been caught.

One of the victims was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. The attack and robbery remain under investigation.